Infection
by Ravenna676
Summary: Life in Lawndale was always hell for Daria. But perhaps all it takes is some perspective to realize what hell really is. Not the best at summaries sadly. But I'll make up for it. I'm updating one chapter at a time as I write this. so updates should be frequent.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: the only thing I own in here is the storyline and a couple original characters.

_ BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

Daria grimaced as she awoke from her sound slumber. Staring at the clock on her nightstand, she shut it off and let out a sigh.

"Time for another glorious day in Lawndale" She muttered as she slowly sat up and got ready for school. Daria made her way downstairs to the kitchen to find her mom and dad already at the table with Quinn still in bed no doubt.

"Morning kiddo" Her father said in his usual cheery tone before something would inevitably send him into another angry rant about something pointless. Daria quietly sat down and started reading the paper.

"Daria honey, have you seen your sister yet?" her mom asked as she sipped from her coffee.

"My best guess is she's removing her overnight make up in order to apply her make up for today" Daria said not lifting her head from the paper.

"Well she better be down soon, she's got a lot to explain after failing to hand in her history assignment. I mean god she's had to extensions already" She said as she turned on the TV and sat down at the table.

_Still no word on the cause of the infection or the source. But the national guard has been called in to administer a quarantine area._

Quinn enters

"Hi everybody, no time to talk I need to head to school early for a project. BIG PROJECT" Quinn said as she turned around to head for the door,

"Hold on there Quinn, care to enlighten me on why you can't hand in a simple three page thesis, even after two extensions?" Helen said standing up and crossing her arms.

"BUT MA-OM, you can't expect me to a paper on someone so boring, not to mention terrible fashion taste" Quinn retorted.

"Yes, how did the founding fathers ever compose such documents like the constitution, with such terrible hair" Daria said sarcastically.

"Stay out this Daria" her mom said.

"Yeah what your mother said honey" her father said as he grabbed the sports section.

"Thank you Jake. Now Quinn the first thing your doing when you get to school is apologizing to your history teacher for being so late, and then you're going to write that paper the second you get home." Helen demanded.

"But Mom I have an important fashion club meeting right after school" Quinn whined.

"I'll pull you out of that damn club if you don't get your priorities in order. She said raising her voice. Quinn let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine mom I'll do it when I get home. Can I go now?" Quinn said defeated.

"Very good honey, and yes you may" She said as she grabbed her suitcase to leave herself.

"So Daria, are you doi-" Jake started to say.

"Oh my look at the time, got to go meet Jane" Daria said as she made a hasty exit.

"Hm oh well" Jake said as he headed up to the bathroom to get ready to meet his new client, leaving the TV still on.

_Alright now I'm receiving information that a state of emergency has been issued for the city of Baltimore, with similar outbreaks occurring in several major cities on the eastern seaboard, as well as several areas in Europe and Asia._

Daria walked up to Jane's house and knocked on the door. After a few moments and hearing some shuffling Jane answered the door.

"I'm almost through junior year and still I find myself unable to get used to the horrid time known as morning" Jane said almost incoherently.

"Neither can I, That's why I carry a gun with only one bullet, just in case" Daria said.

"Ah the cowards way out. Sadly I Jane Lane am above such crude acts" Jane said as she grabbed her bag.

"You sure?" Daria asked. Jane stared at her for a second.

"Better make that two bullets, just in case" Jane said with a smirk. Daria smiled.

"Come on, we're going to be late" Daria said.


	2. Chapter 2

Daria and Jane sat down for their first class of the day with Mr. Demartino.

"Alright STUDENTS, today we are going to discuss the effects of PTSD on military veterans. And HOW this could AFFECT their behavior in civilian society" Mr Demartino said leaning up against his desk.

"Hey Mr. D, is that like some kind of LSD or something?" Kevin asked. Mr. Demartino put his left hand over his head.

"No Kevin, there is no correlation there. However there MIGHT be a correlation between LSD and your PARENTS act of PROCREATION that resulted in YOU." he said as his eye began to bulge.

"Oh Correlation, is that like colors and stuff. I love coloring!" Brittney said excitedly.

"I think I'm developing PTSD right now" Daria said to Jane. Jane chuckled.

"Get that second bullet yet?" Jane asked.

"Let me get back to you on that" Daria said.

"DARIA, perhaps you could enlighten the class on the subject" Demartino interjected.

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is when a person experiences a rather traumatic experience in life and then is unable to cope with that experience, which translates to problems returning the society that they were once accustomed too" Daria explained.

"Not an exact definition, but the very fact you recognized it as an ACRONYM puts you ahead of the curve set by your ASTOUNDING peers" he said before returning to his lecture.

The rest of the morning went by rather uneventfully. Once it came time for lunch the girls made their way to the secluded hideout on the roof of the school.

"You know I should waking up two hours from now" Jane said leaning up against the vent duct, drawing in her notebook.

"I'm sorry this is reality, drug induced fantasy is two doors down on the left" Daria said as she packed a new pack of cigarettes.

"I still don't know if I can get used to this, goody two shoes Daria Morgendorffer, rebelling on the roof. Those will kill ya you know" Jane said with a quiet laughter.

"And what would you say in more deadly, cigarette smoke or the stress induced ulcers the Demartino is bound to have after years of teaching?" Daria asked as she lit one up.

"Touche, you think life will suck that much after high school?" Jane asked.

"They do say these are the best years of our lives" Daria said leaning on a railing.

"Damn, now your making me want to smoke, you and your devious Morgendorffer propaganda" Jane said.

Meanwhile down in freshman hallway.

"Hey um Quinn right" Kevin asked walking up to her.

"Um yeah, what do you want?" Quinn asked annoyed.

"Have you seen Jamie, Joey, or Jeffery?" Kevin asked.

"No I haven't, and if you seen them tell them I'm pissed, I had to carry around my own books all day today!" She said crossing her arm.

"Oh OK, Joey said he felt sick this morning. But he needs to be OK by this Friday, big game and all" Kevin explained.

"Oh Kevie, I just heard from Mack that Jamie and Joey were in the nurse's office" Brittney said running up to Quinn and Kevin.

"Good I have to go talk to them" Kevin said as he and Brittney walked down the hall towards the nurses office.

"Well screw this, Daria better have cigarettes on her" Quinn muttered as she made her way to the roof.

As Kevin and Brittney walked up to the nurses office, they noticed several things were off.

"Uh Kevie why is the lights flickering in the office?" Brittney asked with obvious unease in her voice.

"I don't know babe, I'm sure the nurse knows whats up" Kevin said as he opened the door. The both stood in a silence for a moment as they looked about the room. Fluorescent lighting dangled from the fixtures as they flickered on and off. The shades were drawn shut, and the room was dark. When the lights did flicker they could make out a thick red substance littered all over the room. The furniture and beds were up heaved, and one figure was standing almost motionless, with the exception a slight swaying back and forth. After studying the figure for a moment Kevin made it out to be Jamie.

"Babe wait here a second. Jamie, dude what the hell happened in here?" Kevin asked making his way over to Jamie. Jamie didn't move.

"Kevie be careful" Brittney said quietly at the door, her legs now beginning to shake. Kevin didn't seem to acknowledge as he got close enough to place a hand on his shoulder.

"Dude Jamie are you..." Kevin started to say. But then Jamie turned around. His eyes had irises to them, just a ghostly cloud to them. He was also missing most of the skin and tissue on his left cheek and his throat appeared to be ripped out. Kevin gasped but was too late as Joey and Jeffery came upon him from behind and knocked him to the ground. One biting into is neck while the other bit into Kevin's side torso. Brittney stood mouth agape her long time boyfriend was being slowly devoured.

"Ah babe run!" Kevin yelled as blood began to pool up in his throat. The main arteries in his throat were then severed and blood sprayed all over the room, including all over the front of Brittney. As Jamie then reached his arm up and slowly started stumbling over to her, she sprinted as fast as her legs would carry her.

Meanwhile back on the roof.

"I really don't want to go back in" Daria muttered as her and Jane leaned over the railing looking at several ambulance speeding towards middle school.

"Yeah I hear ya. You know thats the 14th emergency vehicle we've seen over the last half hour" Jane said as she watched intently upon the ones that drove up to the middle school.

"The idiots must be out in droves today" Daria mused as she finished her smoke, A large alarm then sounded from within the school. Their heads both perked up in unison.

"A fire drill? We just had one 3 days ago." Daria said as she grabbed her stuff.

"Look at the bright side, and shortened class with Mr. O'Neil" Jane said smiling.

"So a suicidal lack of sleep turns into optimism for the future huh?" Daria said with her trademark smirk.

"I have too. I know you'll procrastinate on that second bullet" Jane retorted. Suddenly the door slammed open. It was Quinn and Brittney, and Brittney looked like she got in a fight with a can of red paint.

"Daria we have to go NOW" Quinn said with obvious distress in her voice.

"What's happening?" Daria asked.

"Some of the students have gone insane. They're uh... Eating people" Quinn said in almost disbelief.

"Cannibals? You've got to be kidding me. Who put you up to this?" Jane asked. Brittney then ran up to her and grabbed her by the collar.

"DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A FUCKING JOKE TO YOU" Brittney yelled. Jane recognized that smell on her clothes and tensed up.

"Daria I think we should go" Jane said as Brittney put her down.

"Uh alright lets go" Daria said. The four of them ran downstairs and through the school towards the front entrance. Looking around they saw what appeared to be a hellish war zone, there were students gnawing and eating other students as they screamed out in pain and agony.

'This can't be happening, this can't be happening' Daria thought as she just repeated that mantra in her head as the four of them kept running. After reaching the front entrance, they ran into Mr. Demartino and Jodie in the bus loop in front of the school.

"STUDENTS, its good to see you made it out alive. But we need to leave the immediate area NOW, and go somewhere safe until we figure out what the FUCK is going on" Demartino said.

"No we have to get to our houses to check to make sure our parents are alright." Jodie said.

"For right now I actually have to agree with Mr. Demartino. We need to find a safe place to lay low, plus..." Daria said then paused upon seeing a bite wound on Jodie's forearm. Jodie took notice.

"Its nothing, Kevin bit me when he came out of the nurses office" Jodie explained.

"But thats impossible. I watched Joey, Jamie, and Jeffery... I watched them kill Kevie" Brittney said getting choked up.

"Maybe they can help" Quinn said pointing to the military vehicles that were filling up the bus loop. As one of the Humvee pulled up in front of where they were standing. A Soldier jumped out of the passenger seat while the rest of the soldiers holstered their guns and ran into the school. He walked up the group.

"Have any of you been bitten?" He asked immediately.

"Well Jodie here was bitten, but the rest of us are fine" Daria said . He studied Jodie for a moment.

"OK, she's still alive. Alright everyone, I need Jodie to stay here to be examined, the rest of you need to get to someplace safe" He said calmly. Everyone stood there silently for a moment.

"I mean NOW!" He said as he pulled out his pistol and pointed it at them.

"Go on guys I'll be fine" Jodie said with a half hearted smile.

"Alright, good luck Jodie" Brittney said. The group then started running.

"Any ideas on a safe place?" Daria asked while the group jogged along, There was silence for a moment.

"Everyone to my house. We'll be safe there for now" Jane said as she took the lead in front of the rest.

That's when they heard the gunshots coming from the school.

A/N- So how's it coming so far?


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- So I just wanted to let all of you know that I have put no planning into this. It was just an idea that popped into my head that I felt like I had to get down immediately or else I'd lose it. Not so much the Daria/Zombie idea, but what I wanted to do with the characters. Anyways I hope you're enjoying thus far.

The group rushed down Jane's street ignoring the contradicting scene from what they saw just this morning. That morning everything had appeared calm and normal; now there were fires at several of the houses they passed, people running for their lives away from the other people that had been infected.

"Why were they shooting into the school?" Brittney asked as she ran.

"Best not to ask that question right now Brittney. Ms. Lane, how far away are we?" Mr. Demartino asked.

"Its that house on the right" Jane said running up the walkway towards the door. She went to turn the knob only to find it locked.

"Of course it would be locked." Daria said looking around for any infected. Upon turning back towards the door, she saw it swung open with Trent standing in the doorway with a shotgun.

"Hi Janey, thought you were one of them" Trent said in his typical monotone voice.

"No we're all fine, NOW LET US THE FUCK IN!" Jane yelled pushing him out of the way. Trent stepped back from the doorway and the rest followed in.

"Can you please tell me where you got a shotgun Trent?" Daria asked as she and the group gathered in the living room.

"My buddy Carl let me borrow it for a music video shoot" Trent said as he locked the door back up.

"I know this isn't the time or place to ask, but when did you ever get offered to do a music video?" Jane asked.

"Well we didn't get offered, but I figured if we made a homemade one we could put it on youtube or something" Trent said putting the gun over his shoulders.

"I'd HATE to interrupt this enlightening conversation on how to get started in the music business. But I'd really love to know what the FUCK is going on out there" Demartino said.

"OH MY GOD WE'RE GOING TO DIE AREN'T WE" Brittney wailed as she cried into her palms.

"BRITTNEY! No one hear is dead yet. SO CAN IT! Now come on everyone, what do we know?" Demartino said.

"Well I don't know much. The cable went out about an hour ago. But the news people said a couple hours ago that this thing was sprouting up in towns and cities across the country. Also mentioned something about Paris, Moscow, Tokyo, and London." Trent said as he peered through the blinds.

"OK, listen children this is obviously bad news out there. Now we need to gather up all the information we know about our situation. Now what do we know?" Demartino asked standing up.

"Well from what I can gather; they eat flesh, they have gaping wounds on their bodies, and its enough to cause the government to ship out the military" Daria said.

"It seems awfully fast of the government to be responding so quickly to this. I mean we all woke up this morning with not the slightest inclination that something like this was going to happen. And they are able to organize all this in a matter of a couple hours, seems weird to me" Jane added.

"Well there is the possibility that the federal government hasn't issued an official response yet. I recognized the vehicles that drove up to the school. That was national guard which falls with the individual states, and the response would be quicker at the state level as opposed to the national level.' Demartino said as he folded his arms and looked down at the floor.

"My buddy might know what to do. He's really smart when it comes to survival situations." Trent said.

"I don't see how some PUNK would know anything about survival situations" Demartino said standing up.

"Trust me, he spent like four years at some military school. He's real good with this stuff. I'll try to call him." Trent said as he walked over to the phone.

"I need to go" Quinn blurted out.

"What do you mean, you need to go?" Jane asked.

"I just need to go" Quinn said getting up and began walking towards the door. Daria grabbed her hand.

"You're not going anywhere Quinn. We need to to stay here." Daria said sternly.

"NOO, you don't understand. Mom and Dad need to know we're alright" Quinn said trying get her wrist back from Daria. Daria stood up.

"Quinn, look at me. Mom and Dad are going to be more concerned about whether or not we are safe than us risking whatever the hell is out there to tell them we are all right" Daria said. Quinn's arm started shaking as she couldn't look Daria in the eye.

"I just can't..." Quinn started to cry. Daria looked to the group.

"I got to take care of this. Figure out what the hell we're going do" Daria said as she led Quinn upstairs.

"Wow I've never seen her that territorial." Jane mentioned before returning to the conversation.

"Well I after what I've seen today nothing should be that surprising" Trent said in his usual calm tone.

Daria opened the door and led Quinn into Trent's room. Quinn sat down and the bed and was still obviously shaken up.

"Alright Quinn, talk to me" Daria said as she leaned up against the desk.

"I don't want to talk about it. I just want to go home" Quinn said rubbing her hands together. Daria grabbed her pack of cigarettes and tossed one over to Quinn as she put one to her lips.

"That'll help take the edge off" Daria said as she lit hers and tossed the matches to Quinn.

"Thanks Daria, I was meaning to ask you for one of those earlier." Quinn said lighting hers.

"Alright now Quinn I need you to listen to me. We can't go home, or anywhere for that matter until we figure out what's going on. It looks like hell out there, and going out there without a plan of some sort is going to cause more hell for us and everyone else." Daria explained.

"I know, but I can't help but feel that if the roles were reversed they'd be searching high and low for us." Quinn said.

"They're our parents, that's their job. And our job is to make sure we are safe. That's what they would want" Daria said. Quinn remained silent for a moment. Daria examined her for a moment, sensing something was amiss with her.

"What happened before you and Brittney ran upstairs to find us" Daria asked. Quinn still remained silent for a moment.

"I don't want to talk about it" Quinn said in a shaky voice.

"You weren't hurt or bit, were you?" Daria asked.

"No" Quinn said simply. Daria knew something had happened but figured she'd say something when she was ready. Lord only knows what she could of witnessed. As for herself she was about to venture into uncharted territory. She walked up to Quinn and knelt down in front of her.

"Listen um.. Though I find you utterly intolerable most the time, you're uh still my sister. If we stick together we'll make it through this" Daria said.

"Never thought I'd see you give a damn, but thanks Daria. I'm glad I have you right you." Quinn said as she closed the distance between them and hugged Daria.

"Um thanks" Daria said feeling foreign in this situation.

"You don't think Trent will care that we're smoking in his room will he?" Quinn asked. Daria smiled.

"With the amount of pot he smokes in here I highly doubt it" Daria said. Quinn smiled for the first time since that morning.

Meanwhile back downstairs.

"Well I hate to be the bearer of BAD NEWS, but we do not have the supplies nor the resources, to sustain ourselves here until this blows over. Especially if we don't have the slightest inclination how long this will last." Demartino said.

"Well then what would you prefer, running around town with bats and a shotgun hoping we may find something better?" Jane asked sarcastically. Mr. Demartino was about to respond before being interrupted by Brittney.

"Actually everyone I think Jane has the better idea. Running around town will leave us vulnerable and almost guaranteed to be attacked. Now if we stay here, board up the windows, barricade all possible entrances, and use as little power as possible as so we don't attract attention to ourselves we can hold up rather safely. Plus Trent said his friends were coming with supplies and weapons soon which would leave us better suited to handle any attack" Brittney explained in her usual absent minded voice. Everyone sat there quietly. Mr. Demartino was the first to speak up.

"Brittney there are moments where you leave me absolutely befuddled" He said.

"It works for me. Brittney just curious how do you know these things, when you can't even pass a class with higher than a C?" Jane asked.

"Oh my grandpa was a soldier a long time ago during some world war. I think it was world war 2 I think, well anyways he would always tell us stories and about strategy because he thought all of us would be in the military. Although I have no idea why he thought that, I mean god I look terrible in green" Brittney said.

"Thank you Brittney" Jane said cutting her off.

"So we all agree then?" Trent said.

"Agree on what?" Daria said as she and Quinn walked downstairs. Trent looked around for any objections.

"We're are going to stay here for a bit, at least until Carl and his friends show with some supplies. You on board?" Trent asked.

"Fine by us." She said. Daria glanced over to Quinn for a second, still seeing she was upset by keeping her head down.

"Alright then, well lets get to work securing this house" Demartino said. Everyone stood up and got to work.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N- new chapter, and rather surprised with the amount of hits it's received so far. Although a review or two would let me know how I'm doing.

"So how long till your friends get here?" Daria asked as her and Trent were boarding up the back windows in the kitchen.

"Hard to say, they're coming from Baltimore. Depends on the roads I guess" Trent said.

"So how do you know these guys?" Daria asked.

"We go back a little ways. About five or six years ago we did a show at a place called Water Street in upstate NY. Good group of guys, I figured he'd be a good guy to get a hold of. His grandfather left him with a bunch of weapons and such" Trent explained.

"You really think we're going to need weapons?" She asked again. Trent looked at her with a smirk.

"Don't be dense Daria, unbelievable or not we both know zombies when we see one. Plus with the weapons they are like condoms" Trent said. Daria looked confused.

"How so?" Daria asked.

"Better to have them and not need it, than need it and not have one" Trent explained. Daria and Trent both started chuckling.

"I suppose your right" She said.

"Alright, I think we're boarded up really tight. Not bad for a couple hours if I do say so myself" Jane said walking into the kitchen.

"Good, what now I wonder" Daria said.

"When did you say your friends were getting here Trent?" Jane asked.

"Soon I think, only takes about 2 hours to get here from Baltimore. And it's been about 3 hours since I talked to them." Trent said. Jane and Daria tensed at the time difference.

"If this thing is in Baltimore, theres a chance they got caught in this, and well uh they might not have made it" Jane said lowering her head.

"They probably just took a detour, highway might have been closed. We should still keep a look out either way" Trent said.

"Hope your right. How do you want to keep watch, shifts I take it?" Jane asked.

"Yeah that'll work. Daria and I will take first watch. Then maybe you and Brittney can take over after a couple hours." Trent said. Jane glared at him.

"Oh no no no, Apocalypse or not, you are not pairing me up with Queen or the palm palms. I'd sooner make out with the dude in the street missing his face" Jane said putting her hands on her hips.

"Whatever, we can figure this out later. Trent and I will head up now" Daria interjected.

"How long should we wait for him? As you know Casa Lane never has anything edible" Jane asked.

"Lets give it some time. Now that we are somewhat secure, we can afford that" Daria said.

"You don't think any of those things have noticed us yet have they?" Trent asked.

"Nah not yet. But from what I figure I think they can still hear" Jane said.

"Alright cool, lets go Daria. Jane let us know if anything comes up." Trent asked as he grabbed the shotgun.

"Fair enough, you two kids do the same" Jane said as they walked into the living room, with Daria and Trent going upstairs.

"So we still going to wait for these kids?" Demartino asked. Jane sat down.

"Looks like it, at least for a little while" Jane said. They all sat in silence for a moment.

"Wouldn't by chance happen to have any beer, would you?" Demartino asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know, let me check" Jane said as she walked back to the kitchen.

"I don't like the idea of sitting here, people out there could still be dying" Quinn said.

"Thats a possibility. But we agreed to stay here for the time being, and thats exactly what we are going to do" Demartino explained.

"Mr. Demartino, I don't know what to make of this. Can you come take a look?" Brittney asked as she peered out the window. Mr. Demartino walked over.

"I don't see anything, just a couple of those things wandering through the street" Demartino said.

"Exactly! Before there were all sorts of military vehicles driving around. Now I haven't seen anything going by for well over an hour, even that army jeep over there is deserted." Brittney said. Demartino looked around and saw two men in military fatigues covered in blood and missing flesh wandering by the jeep. Mr. Demartino took a deep breath.

"That's because they evacuated the area. It apparently was a losing fight, so they retreated until they came up with a better plan" Demartino explained.

"Maybe theres no one left at all" Quinn said quietly.

"Now don't say that. Temporary retreat can be an effective strategy" Demartino said before turning back towards the window. He didn't want to admit that at least in the immediate area, she might just be right. Jane walked back in carrying seven beers, a couple shot glasses, and a bottle of rum.

"Alright guys, this is all I have so lets make the most of this" Jane said as she put the drinks and glasses on the table. Brittney and Mr. Demartino sat back down.

"I was unaware I asked for multiple drinks" Demartino said grabbing one of the beers.

"I was thinking due to our situation you'd turn a blind eye on this one Mr. D" Jane said with a smirk.

"Well seeing as how I'm an EDUCATOR, this kind of activity with my students should be unacceptable and appalling. But given the gravity of the situation, I'm willing to ignore those principles on a short time basis." Demartino said as he grabbed a shot glass.

"Wonderful" Jane said sitting down.

Meanwhile upstairs in the attic.

"Why didn't we board up this window?" Daria asked. Trent just smiled.

"Because its damn near impossible to climb up here, and from what I'm able to see these things are slow and uncoordinated. Plus this attic window can't be anymore than a foot or so wide. I don't even think you would be able to climb through it" Trent explained. Daria sighed.

"Oh OK" she said simply.

"You need to relax Daria, You're too stressed out." Trent said. Daria gave him a confused look.

"How can you not be stressed out? We are in a total emergency situation straight out of a zombie movie, people are dying, and the military looks like it's given up or possibly worse. I'd like to think I'm acting normally in this situation." Daria said. Trent looked at her to see her look of frustration, panic, and a hint of fear.

"Emergency situation or not, we have to keep our heads cool. We'll be alright" Trent said.

"You're awfully calm about this" Daria pointed out.

"I'm calm about most things. You should be too" Trent said.

"And whys that?" She asked as she let out a laugh.

"Because, your classmates lean on you. You always have a cool head and always react rationally to a situation. They see that in school and now in this situation they're going to look for that in you. If you run around in a panic, then they will and it wont end well for anyone." Trent explained.

"You're pretty cool, I'm sure they can get that from you I'd imagine" Daria said.

"They don't know me like they know you, outside of Jane and you of course. Plus your sister already demonstrated they she needs you" Trent said. She had to admit he had her there.

"I guess your right" Daria said defeated.

"Heh, this gives me a great idea for a song" Trent said. Daria laughed, but then her head perked up as she saw something towards the end of the street.

"Trent look!" Daria said pointing to a military jeep that was speeding down the road.

"Hm I wonder who that is?" Trent asked. The jeep continued to speed down the road, running over several undead, until it turned into the driveway.

"Well I guess that answers that question. Come on lets go" Daria said as her and Trent jumped up and ran downstairs towards the garage.

Everyone was still sitting at the coffee table in the living room when they saw Daria and Trent run downstairs. Daria looked at them for a moment and stopped briefly.

"It's 4 in the afternoon and everyones already drinking?" Daria asked.

"Eh we got bored. So whats up?" She asked.

"I think Trent's friends are here" Daria said as she ran into the garage. Everyone else followed.

They all got into the garage to see the garage door just finished opening. The jeep immediately pulled in, and Trent hastily shut the door. Three men got out of the vehicle. The one getting out of the back seat was short, stocky, with clean cut hair, and wearing jeans and a Miami Dolphins jersey. The one getting out on the passenger side was a much larger man about 6'5" and close to 280lbs, wearing combat fatigue pants and a black wife beater. And the driver was taller, about 6'3" 250 with a black wife beater, jeans, and shoulder length light brown hair. And his belt carried a series of knives, along with two swords holstered on his back. As the door shut he turned to Trent.

"Hey brother, thanks for the hospitality" He said shaking his hand then pulling him in for a hug.

"No problem, glad to see you made it" Trent said simply. The man looked around at the rest of the group.

"Hey everyone I'm Carl. And these are my two compadres. Monty and Joey" Carl said pointing to the bigger man first, and then to the smaller.

"Where did you get that army jeep?" Trent asked.

"Well we picked it up after we saw the two soldiers who were initially driving it attacked and killed. We didn't think they'd miss it." Carl said casually.

"Trent said you guys were bringing supplies?" Demartino asked stepping forward from the back.

"You bet, we got plenty of non-perishables, soda, water. And more importantly a ton of guns from my grandpas place and enough booze to kill a college campus" Carl said smiling.

"Good" Demartino said as every breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Yeah now tell me man, What the hell is the situation here?" Carl asked.

A/N seemed like a good place to end there. I could've written more but it's 530 in the morning so yeah lol. Hope you guys are enjoying this thus far.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N- sorry for the delay. Picked up a security job at a bar, which a lot of late nights. But heres the next chapter.

Everyone stood in the kitchen in silence for a moment, Carl being the first to speak up.

"So it's the same here too then." he said stroking his chin.

"You wouldn't happen to know how wide spread this is?" Daria asked.

"Well the jeep was handy for more than just transportation. It's radio allowed us to eavesdrop on military chatter the whole way. From what we can tell, this infection is rapidly spreading all throughout the country. I guess they were able successfully quarantine parts of Colorado, the Dakotas, and the Mid West. But the south by the Florida Panhandle is a war zone, and all the big cities north of Baltimore are dark with the exception of Philadelphia." Carl explained.

"Damn" Jane said simply.

"I'm aware of how devastating a pandemic can be, but never this quick. Other diseases normally take months, and the particularly deadly ones in a matter of weeks. It's only been hours since we saw the first." Demartino said folding his arms.

"OK then what do we know about the infected?" Trent asked.

"Unlike anything we've ever seen. By all regards these infected are dead. You can unload an entire magazine clip into their chest and they'll still keep coming, only a shot or severe blow to the head will take them out" Monty said as he opened a beer.

"We've also noticed that they've lost some of their senses." Carl pointed out.

"How so?" Demartino asked.

"Well we walked by a group of them back in Baltimore. They looked in our direction and didn't attack. When Joey took a lighter and threw it in the other direction they swarmed it. So we know their sense of hearing is very strong, but as far as sight they're blind as bats. We are still trying to figure out if they can still smell." Carl explained.

"Strange, normally there is an incubation period for any kind of virus, yet it seems like this virus skipped that period all together. And I'm fairly certain there is no known virus that reanimates dead tissue." Demartino said crossing his arms.

"Your a history teacher, why is it you know so much about virology?" Jane asked.

"I spent 4 years in Vietnam, That was the first war to use militarized biological agents, they trained us in anything we might see literal or hypothetical." Demartino explained.

"So your former military, any idea what their plan of attack is for a situation like this?" Carl asked.

"I couldn't tell you. We dealt with foreign enemies, I'm not that familiar with what the protocols are for pandemic this widespread. I can tell you that the chain of command would extend from the CDC up to the president. I'm sure Washington has something planned for this." Demartino explained.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Washington was silent according to patrols heading that way." Monty said. There was another uncomfortable moment of silence.

"Well we can't worry so much about the rest of the world. We just need to make sure we make it through this." Brittney said breaking the silence.

"I happen to agree with the lady. And while we're at it I'd like to figure out what the hell caused this fucking mess" Carl said.

"Amen to that" Monty said.

"So with our supplies how long do you think we can last?" Daria asked.

"With our supplies, and 9 people, I'd probably say a couple weeks on the food. Maybe a couple months on the ammo, if we're careful. But in a populated area such as this, if those things find out we're here, we are fucked" Carl said.

"Well we do have the house boarded up tight" Jane said.

"This ain't the movies darling. I watched these things take down military barricades. Boarded up windows windows and doors wont count for shit" Carl said coldly.

"Any ideas on where to go then?" Jane asked.

"Well I say we head west, they said there are safe zones out its worth a shot" Carl said.

"Your kidding right? Your talking about a couple thousand miles, and if this infection really is everywhere we'll exhaust all our supplies and ammo before we even make it halfway. And that's assuming that any of us are left alive at all" Daria said walking up to Carl.

"I understand your fear honey but-" Carl said before being cut off.

"Listen here, there is a very big difference between fear and common sense. And lets make one thing clear, I'm not your fucking honey!" Daria said before storming out.

"Daria wait!" Quinn said going after her. Carl lit up one of his cigarettes.

"Well buddy you certainly haven't lost your touch with the ladies I see" Monty said laughing as he slapped Carl in the back. Carl just shrugged his shoulders.

"Daria will calm down. But I will admit I do share her opinion on the matter somewhat. It's very risky exposing ourselves like that" Trent said.

"The way I view it, there is no such thing as a safe situation given the circumstances that have occurred since this morning. And I don't know about you but I think we'd be safer if we were mobile as opposed to being stationary." Carl explained.

"You can make an argument either way on that you know" Trent said. Carl laughed.

"Ah Trent the negotiator" Carl said smiling.

"I think this may bring up a valid point. We might need someone to lead through all this" Jane said.

"Who says we need a leader?" Carl said.

"We need a direction, and fighting in a kitchen over beer and cigarettes wont get us far:" Jane said.

"Actually we would only need that during combat situations I would think. We could do the rest democratically." Demartino said chiming in.

"Exactly. The process of choosing a leader would create more conflict than it would solve I feel. Plus I feel like we should we should get to know each other better." Carl said chuckling.

"I can dig that" Trent said

"By the way, what's up with Daria? That's Daria right?" Carl asked.

"Yeah, she's just having some trouble dealing with all this. She'll come around." Trent said.

"Hmm I see. I think I'll go have a word with her." Carl said.

"Just be careful, she can be volatile at times." Trent said.

"A woman after my ex girlfriend's heart." Carl said laughing. He then walked into the garage.

" He laughs an awful lot given the situation, almost like he's enjoying this." Brittney said.

"We all deal with things in different ways, that's his way." Monty said.

"Well either way we're going to be here for awhile, how about a little beer pong to lighten the mood." Joey said taking to pong balls out of his pocket.

"Typical" Monty said putting his palm to his forehead.

Meanwhile upstairs in Jane's room.

"Stupid moron. I'm amazed he's lived this long, pandemic or not" Daria muttered.

"Well it can't be helped, he is a man after all. At least he's cute" Quinn said. Daria turned her head from the window to look at Quinn.

"You can't be serious" Daria said giving her sister an incredulous look.

"Hey got to keep my options open right?" Quinn said. Daria picked up on her humorous tone.

"You think mom and dad are alright?" Daria asked.

"I don't know. But we just got to have faith right?" Quinn said smiling slightly.

"I never was good at the whole faith thing" Daria said.

"Neither am I, but if a little blind faith is what it takes to keep our sanity, I say why not right?" Quinn said.

"Stark contrast from the Quinn of a few hours ago." Daria remarked.

"She's still here. I'm just burying her right now" Quinn said.

"I guess that's all any of us can do I suppose." Daria said looking back out the window.

"Well I'm going to go back downstairs to see what everyone else is doing. You good?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." Daria said. Quinn then stood up and headed downstairs. Daria continued to stare out the window at the infected wandering the streets. The sun was beginning to set, making it difficult to make out their faces, but she could still make out several. She saw Ms. Li, Mack, and Andrea.

'I wonder if they really are dead, or if they can be healed' She thought. Her thoughts then went to Jodie, wondering if she was alright. Then she remembered the gunshot as they were running away, her eyes shut tightly.

"Best not to think about that" She said quietly.

"Funny thats what I say to myself a lot" Carl said. Daria whipped her head around.

"How long have been standing there?" Daria asked immediately.

"Only for a moment or so. I wanted to talk to you" Carl said.

"I don't have anything to say to you" Daria said plainly.

"Well then just listen. First I'm sorry for the whole honey comment, I say things like that when talking to women just because it's what I grew up with, so its kind of second nature. Also I don't want you to think I'm trying to dictate anything to you guys. If anything I'm grateful you've allowed me to be here." Carl said.

"Funny I don't remember inviting you" Daria said not looking at him.

"Well not to sound like a smart ass, but Trent did invite me and it is his house" Carl said.

"Well you are a smart ass you know." Daria said.

"He invited me because I told him the situation. When we left Baltimore everything was burning and dying behind us. When we started there were 13 of us, now... now theres only three of us." Carl said. They both stood there for a moment.

"Whats with the rifle?" Daria asked noticing it strapped to his back.

"I was hoping I could show you how to use this" Carl said.

"I thought they were still able to hear. Wouldn't a gun shot be like ringing a dinner bell?" Daria asked finally turning around. Carl's mood brightened.

"Well you see, this is a SASR .50 caliber with a suppressor. This baby wont make a noise louder than dropping a quarter on grass." Carl said with a gleaming look in his eyes. Daria smirked.

"Awfully excited about a gun for a man carrying about a half dozen swords and daggers" Daria remarked.

"Au contraire, mon ami. I'm a fan of stealth. Take out the enemy before they ever knew you were there" Carl said walking up next to Daria. "So care to learn a little?" He said. Daria sighed as she looked down at all the people.

"But those are people aren't they?" Daria asked. Carl put a hand on her shoulder.

"Trust me honey, they're already dead. We're doing them a favor" Carl said.

"OK, but you have to stop calling me honey" Daria said.

"It's a deal" Carl said as they both knelt down and began setting up the rifle.

"It's good to see your sister made it through this with you" Carl said as he loaded the magazine.

"Yeah but we still need to find our parents" Daria said,

"Well we are going to be here for a little while I'm sure we can take a look at your place in the next day or two. It's the least I can do for royally pissing you off" Carl said smirking.

"Thank you" Daria said smiling back.

"But first lets take out a few of these people. It's less we'll have to deal with later." Carl said.

"Alright." Daria said.

A/N- and so thats another chapter. I know I'm going a little quick as far as a description for what's happening, but that's because I want to concentrate more on the survival and emotional aspect of the characters at this point of the story. Anyways I hope you are all enjoying it thus far.


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